Through the 1980s, there were occasionally successful attempts to combine kites with canoes, ice skates, snow skis, water skis and roller skates. Although this patent did not result in any commercial interest, Panhuise could be considered as the originator of the concept of kitesurfing. The patent was for "a water sport using a floating board of a surf board type where a pilot standing up on it is pulled by a wind catching device of a parachute type tied to his harness on a trapeze type belt". In October 1977 Gijsbertus Adrianus Panhuise (Netherlands) obtained the first patent for kitesurfing. In 1978, Ian Day's "FlexiFoil" kite-powered Tornado catamaran exceeded 40 km/h. In the late 1970s, the development of Kevlar then Spectra flying lines and more controllable kites with improved efficiency contributed to practical kite traction. In 1903, aviation pioneer Samuel Cody developed "man-lifting kites" and succeeded in crossing the English Channel in a small collapsible canvas boat powered by a kite. The intention was to establish kitepower as an alternative to horsepower, partly to avoid the hated "horse tax" that was levied at that time. The kites could be flown for sustained periods. Both carts and boats were able to turn and sail upwind. In the 1800s, George Pocock used kites of increased size to propel carts on land and ships on the water, using a four-line control system - the same system in common use today. The modern sport of kitesurfing originated around 1995.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |